Kevin Kline takes Sin City detour

Kevin Kline, memorable for comedies such as "A Fish Called Wanda" and dramas such as "Sophie's Choice," said the script and top-notch co-stars got him to sign on to "Last Vegas." PETER BREGG, GETTY IMAGES

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Kevin Kline (as Sam Harris) checks out the sights of The Strip in a scene from "Last Vegas." CHUCK ZLOTNICK, CBS FILMS

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Kevin Kline has been married for 24 years to Phoebe Cates, who made a big impression on a generation of movie-goers with a scene from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." She retired from acting to raise the couple's two children. STEPHEN LOVEKIN, GETTY IMAGES

Enjoying a wild senior moment in Las Vegas are Kevin Kline, left, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Michael Douglas. The four Oscar winners play childhood friends in the comedy "Last Vegas." PHOTO BY CHUCK ZLOTNICK

Robert De Niro and Kevin Kline watch Morgan Freeman as he plays blackjack in a scene from "Last Vegas." CHUCK ZLOTNICK, CBS FILMS

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Michael Douglas, left, and Kevin Kline arrive at the after-party for a screening of "Last Vegas" earlier this month at Haze Nightclub at the Aria Resort & Casino at CityCenter. ETHAN MILLER, GETTY IMAGES

I was on my way to Las Vegas to interview Oscar-winning actor Kevin Kline, who stars with three other Oscar-winning actors in the movie comedy “Last Vegas,” and my softball buddies only had one question:

“Will Phoebe Cates be with him?”

When I informed them that Kline’s wife, the actress who hastened the heartbeats of millions of young men in the 1980s with an erotic diving board fantasy in the comedy “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” probably would not be accompanying him to a press junket, they responded with another question:

“Then what’s the point?”

Kline, 66, laughed hard when I relayed their questions, and he said he would call her later that night to tell her that she still had many fans, although she largely has stayed out of the spotlight to raise the couple’s two children. Did we mention that Phoebe Cates recently turned 50? But Kline proudly informed me that his beautiful wife was carded in a bar just a few weeks ago.

“Google her,” he said. “She never ages. She still looks 25.”

As I explained to my teammates, Kline is reason enough to drive to Las Vegas. He is one of the finest comic actors in Hollywood, not only winning the Academy Award for “A Fish Called Wanda,” but also being the driving force behind the comedies “Dave,” “In & Out” and “Soapdish.” But he also is one of our best dramatic actors, winning two Tonys on Broadway (albeit for musicals) and leaving an indelible mark on the films “Sophie’s Choice,” “Cry Freedom” and “The Big Chill.” He will star next as an aging but still controversial Errol Flynn in the film “The Last of Robin Hood.”

In “Last Vegas,” which opens this week, Kline plays one of four childhood friends who meet in Las Vegas for a weekend of mirth, mayhem and Mylanta. The reason for the gathering is to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Michael Douglas to a much younger woman. Joining Kline and Douglas in what might seem like “The Hangover” for the AARP generation are Robert De Niro and Morgan Freeman.

Q.How was this movie sold to you?

A.It’s always the same. The script does the selling. I was the last one in. It came with Michael attached. It came with Morgan attached. And it came with Bob attached. Then I met with Jon (director Jon Turteltaub) and we hit it off. We talked about making it as real as possible.

Q.You mentioned that you were the last one in. What did it mean to work with those other three actors?

A.It’s always about who you’re working with. First, there is the script, and then there is who is involved. Who are you going to spend 10-12-15 hours a day for six or eight weeks with? That’s important.

Q. You do a lot of stage work. Do you prefer it over making movies?

A.I like them both. It’s a cliché that stage actors thumb their noses at doing films. I am very fortunate to be able to do both. One feeds the other.

Q.Is your process of deciding what to do on stage any different than your process for choosing movie roles?

A.No, it’s the same. The script and who is involved.

Q.How do you decide what you’re going to do for the next three months of your life?

A.I don’t. I’m not like some actors who spend all of their free time developing their own material so they’re never out of work. I’m too easily distracted by my life.

Q. Is it a lack of ambition, or you’re having too much fun?

A.It’s a combination of both. Once I was married and had children, my life became very important to me. I had a wife who gave up her career in an instant to take care of her family. She’s a super, hands-on mother. She’s such a smart, wise woman in so many ways.

Q.Were you a hands-on father when your children were younger?

A.I was.

Q.Did it impact how you worked?

A.It did. During the school year, I wouldn’t take roles that would take me away from them for four months. Before we had kids, we would take turns. One of us would take a role, and the other would go along. We refused to let our careers run our lives.

Q. It sounds almost like an emotional prenup.

A.It was discussed, but it just seemed sensible.

Q.Many two-actor families in Hollywood are not so sensible.

A.Phoebe was always very sensible. (Shakes his head) I can’t believe I'm talking about my private life.

Q.Sorry about that.

A.That’s OK.

Q.It was big news on the Internet when Phoebe turned 50.

A.The big news is that she still looks great.

Q.You guys filmed in Las Vegas for two weeks. Are you a fun Las Vegas-type guy?

A.I did enjoy the two Cirque du Soleil shows I went to, but I’m not a Las Vegas-type guy. I spent most of the nights in my room.

Q.So, it was all business while you were here, like you were at a sales convention?

A.You spend 10 or 12 hours a day with these people. We have lives. We have wives. We have children. We have calls to make at the end of the day. We’re not 20-year-olds who are in Las Vegas to party.

Q.Do you see this as an adult-themed movie with adult actors that is intended for adult audiences?

A.It could very well be all that, but unlike “The Big Chill,” which was so specific to the baby boomer generation, this is a movie about friendship, which is more of a universal theme. I like that it is about genuine friendship against a backdrop of a city like Las Vegas, where it’s all smoke and mirrors. Just as Washington, D.C., was the perfect backdrop for that innocent guy in “Dave,” Las Vegas and its illusions is a perfect backdrop for these guys, who have their own illusions.

Q.So, you don’t think the movie is age-specific?

A.I would like to think that it is for people of all ages. You don’t have to be over 65 or be from Brooklyn to understand what these guys are going through.

Q.Your last birthday was a big one (65). Do you remember how you spent it?

A.Actually, it was the second day of filming on this movie. If I’m working, it's a good birthday. When I turned 60, I was in a play doing Cyrano. That’s how I like to celebrate my birthdays, although my wife threw me a huge surprise party for my 60th.

Q.What is your feeling about aging?

A.We live in such an ageist culture. It is a youth-obsessed culture. This city is youth-obsessed. This hotel is youth-obsessed.

Q.You sound like you really don’t like it here.

A.I have a very low threshold for noise, and this is a noisy city. It’s like Disney World. You’re bombarded with reminders to “have fun,” and I just want some peace and quiet.

Q.They aged you a bit in this film. You’ve always played a variety of ages, haven’t you?

A.I played King Lear six years ago, and I just played Errol Flynn at 50, although his doctor said he had the body of a 75-year-old.

Q.You’re playing him at the end of his life?

A.The last year-and-a-half of his life, when he was having an affair with a 15-year-old girl. It was scandalous, but the movie is a love story.

Q.I believe you were at the Toronto Film Festival when they screened “The Big Chill” to celebrate its 30th anniversary. What did you think?

A.The place was packed with people of all ages, and it still played. I know I’m biased but that opening at the funeral was spectacular. When she breaks into “You Can't Always Get You Want,” the place went crazy.

Q.In that film, your wife, played by Glenn Close, loans you out for a night of stud service with her best friend. In “Last Vegas,” your wife (Joanna Gleason) gives you permission to sleep with other women on your weekend in Vegas. Why do you suppose this keeps happening to you?

A.I have no idea.

Q.There are a number of wild party scenes in this movie. I realize these scenes are carefully planned, with blocking and camera angles, and you’re not really partying, but were there any funny stories that came out of those scenes?

A.There was one. You can’t use real ice cubes in a scene because they make too much noise. So they use rubber ice cubes. In the hotel suite, there is a serious scene with Robert and Michael going at it, and Morgan is trying to break it up. I am in the background making drinks. I dramatically threw ice cubes into a glass, and one of the cubes missed. It hit the floor and started bouncing across the room in the middle of this serious scene.

Q.Did they stop the scene?

A.No, the camera never picked it up. I was chuckling but nobody else knew what was happening. I just watched that rubber ice cube go bouncing through the scene.

Q.I guess a movie set is a bad place to get a real drink?

A.The drinks are always warm on movie sets. That’s one of the secrets of movie-making.

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